


Shiranu hi

by ohayohimawari



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mythology, Gen, Genma the Ninja-Fisherman, Historical Fantasy, Historical References, Made-up Myth, Origin of Name
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:21:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25315234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohayohimawari/pseuds/ohayohimawari
Summary: A myth about unknown fire and an unnamed man.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 13
Collections: GenmaWeekend2020





	Shiranu hi

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mrssakurahatake](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mrssakurahatake/gifts), [Raiza_Gabriel94](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raiza_Gabriel94/gifts).



> Shiranu hi: "...is an atmospheric ghost light told about in Kyushu. They are said to appear on days of the noon moon such the kaijitsu (29th or 30th day) of the seventh month of the lunisolar calendar when the wind is weak, in the Yatsushiro Sea and the Ariake Sea. Furthermore, they can be seen in modern times, but they have been determined to be an atmospheric optical phenomenon.  
> "The phenomenon occurs several kilometers out from the shore in open water. First, one or two flames will appear. These will split off to the left and right and multiply, eventually producing anywhere from several hundred to several thousand flames in a row. They are said to span four to eight kilometers. It is believed that the greatest number of shiranui can be seen at the lowest tide, within two hours of 3:00AM.  
> They are said to be visible...up to ten meters above the surface. If one attempts to approach them, they will appear to get farther away. They were formerly believed to be the lamps of the Dragon God, and nearby fishing villages would prohibit fishing on days when shiranui were seen.  
> "According to the Nihon Shoki, the Hizen no Kuni Fudoki, and the 'Higo no Kuni Fudoki', when Emperor Keiko conquered Kumamoto in southern Kyushu, they advanced using the shiranui as a landmark. In his journey to expand the Yamato Ōken, he saw inexplicable spots of moving fire, shiranui, in the Ariake Sea and the Yatsushiro Sea (also called the Shiranui Sea). When he told local gozoku about these sightings, the gozoku replied that they did not know of this fire. It was thus named 'shiranu hi' ('unknown fire,' which eventually was slurred into "shiranui"), and the area was named Hi Province (Hi no kuni, 'Land of Fire,' or 'Kingdom of Fire'), now known as Kumamoto Prefecture."  
> -Excerpt from the Wiki page for "shiranui."
> 
> Written for Genma Week 2020; Mythological/Historical prompt.
> 
> I do not own these characters; I'm having a wonderful time exploring them.

Some names are common, most are easily forgotten, and all outlive the first that bore them. One must reach deep into the past to find the point at which they were bestowed.

It was in that faraway past when an unnamed man came to live on the outskirts of a village near the Yatsushiro Sea. He was a curious creature who claimed to be a fisherman, though the inhabitants of the nearest village doubted it. He sold one catch per year, following the thirtieth night of the seventh month when the wind blew weakly.

Although his haul earned more profit than any fisherman could dream of, how he could live on one catch per year was one of many mysteries that surrounded him.

There were the mysteries of the catch itself. Not only was it the largest of any night of the year, but it was also caught on a night when the tide was lowest, and no fisherman could safely launch their boat. What’s more, each fish was in pristine condition. They were neither mangled in nets nor had hooks buried deep within them. Each one bore only a single puncture wound to the head.

Another mystery of the unnamed man was his peculiar habit. Though he was only seen once a year, he was never without a long needle poking from between his lips _. ‘Of all the vices a man could have,’_ the villagers would gossip, _‘that must surely be the most dangerous.’_

An unnamed man with too many mysteries and a dangerous habit lent himself well to darker speculations. It only took five years, five miraculous catches, and five sightings of him for the villagers to whisper the word _‘ninja’_ when they spoke of him.

Whether out of curiosity, jealousy, or fear, a small band of fishermen decided to solve at least one of the unnamed man’s mysteries. If he was, in fact, a ninja, he would be gone most nights to assassinate some noble or other, but there was one night of the year that he was sure to be found.

On the next thirtieth night of the seventh month when the wind blew weakly, the band of fishermen hid themselves on the shore of the Yatsushiro Sea. They didn’t know what they would find, so they weren’t prepared for it when they did, and then they struggled to explain it afterward.

 _‘Fires,’_ they said, _‘two fires glowed brightly after midnight and before dawn, high above the receded waters of the sea. It wasn’t long before those two became two more, and two more, and two more… Until several thousand flames hovered above the waves.’_

The other villagers laughed in their faces after they spoke. _‘It’s true,’_ they cried above the din. _‘They were ghostly flames, shimmering like the air on the hottest summer day.’_

 _‘Perhaps you saw them through the bottom of your sake bottle,’_ one villager challenged them, and laughter reignited louder before it could die down.

This drove one of the fishermen to his feet, and to issue a warning to them all. ‘ _That stranger is a fool to risk his life on such a night, no matter the catch. Those must be the lanterns of demons-for they couldn’t be anything else, and you would do well to believe us.’_

The fishermen were laughed out of the pub and almost out of the village. However, not even shame could change their account. An indignant eldest son of the loudest of the fishermen sought to restore his father’s name, and one year later, he flouted their warning.

He crept right up to the unnamed man’s shack at the edge of the Yatsushiro Sea, and he left his bottle of sake behind for good measure. For hours he waited, not stirring, barely breathing, long into the windless night.

It was well after midnight, but still well before dawn when the unnamed man emerged from his home. The stranger lit one fire-just one-and waited.

The eldest son watched as the magic of the natural world embraced the flames. There was no moonlight to compete with the brightness of the fire. There was no wind to ruffle the lowered waves of the sea. The fire on the shore was mirrored in the water once, and then again, and again, and again until there were too many fires to count glowing above the sea.

The unnamed man strode right into the water and reached into a pouch at his hip. He retrieved a long needle and placed it between his lips. The fish, too attracted to the light, clambered around him. He took aim, spit the needle into the waves, and pulled out the fish he’d struck.

Thus it went on for two hours. The stranger seemed to have an endless supply of needles in his pouch, and his pile of fish grew impossibly high on the shore of the Yatsushiro Sea.

The fires- reflected and otherwise-were still burning when a great disturbance was heard on the opposite shore. The mighty sound of clattering armor and the rumble of many marching footsteps made it clear that the Emperor and his army had found their way there.

The eldest son watched as the unnamed man stilled. The stranger then turned his head and looked directly at him over his shoulder. “It’s yours,” he said quietly to the eldest son. Then, he suddenly disappeared into thin air, leaving his prized annual catch behind.

Dawn came, and still, the unnamed man remained gone. The eldest son returned to the village, eager to hand over the haul and the explanation of the strange phenomenon of the Yatsushiro Sea. He quickly found himself unable to offer either, though.

The news of the Emperor’s arrival and his intention to include their village under the protection of his empire was on the tip of every tongue. _How_ he came to arrive was of particular import. The Emperor claimed to have been led there in the night by what he could only describe as ‘unknown fire.’ It was at this moment that the stranger was no longer unnamed, because the one who witnessed it knew that he and the fires that brought the army there to be the same.

The eldest son watched as his father and fellow fishermen were vindicated by the corroborating account from the Emperor himself. He traded in his catch but kept the truth, knowing their honor would never be questioned again.

Time does funny things to names. It changes their spelling and pronunciation. Names travel with the people that bear them all over the world, and through them, ancient myths are discovered anew.

** The End **


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